Paired up and sent packing!

Sparks flew when the Dixon-Box family were introduced to the managers of a Blackpool kissogram agency and told they would be spending two weeks together.

But class barriers were pushed aside as the two families spent more time together and realised they were not as different as they first thought.

PR Fiona, 45, and retired hotelier Chris, 58, saw an advert for the ITV1 programme while shopping and were soon paired up with Paul and Penny Westhead and sent packing.

The first week was spent skiing in Courchevel - Fiona and Chris' choice - while for the second, the Westheads chose to take them to Jinack Island, Gambia.

Fiona, of Meyrick Park Crescent, said: "We were really up for it. We didn't know who we would be paired with or where we would be going but we thought it would be a good laugh.

"Then we met the Westheads and I thought 'This is never going to work.' We were just chalk and cheese; everything about us was completely different.

"But it only took a couple of days before we got to know them. They had never been skiing before and we had to try and teach them. They found it difficult but give them their dues, they kept getting up each time they fell."

Fiona, Chris and Chris' son James, were then given just one night's notice of their next destination - poverty-stricken Jinack Island.

Chris said: "When we got to the island and saw where we were staying, I was shocked - I didn't care for it at all.

"It really was awful. The hut was bad enough but the toilet was indescribable. It was hard.

"But we were on an island and there was no way off so you learn to cope pretty quickly. And when we met the villagers, it paled into significance. They were so warm and welcoming, despite having absolutely nothing."

The holidays had such an effect on the Dixon-Boxes that they have kept in touch with the Westheads and are planning a return trip to Gambia.

The Dixon-Boxes' experiences will be shown on Holiday Showdown at 9pm on ITV1 tonight (October 14).